Parking control device

ABSTRACT

A vehicle detection device with a parking gate ( 1 ) and a parking stand ( 4 ) consists of a geomagnetic field sensor ( 10 ) in the parking stand ( 4 ) for detecting a vehicle at the parking stand ( 4 ) and/or a geomagnetic field sensor ( 11 ) in the parking gate ( 1 ) for detecting a vehicle beneath the opened parking gate ( 1 ).

The present invention relates to a device for controlling the authorized access of vehicles to parking facilities having a parking gate according to the generic part of claim 1.

Such parking control devices are well known. A ticket is generally used as the storage medium upon which is recorded the authorization to park after payment of the parking fee, or which authorizes long-term parking. After the reading device has read an authorization recorded on the storage medium and a sensor at the parking stand has detected the presence of a vehicle, the parking gate mechanism is activated and the parking gate is opened accordingly. Another sensor is provided at the parking gate to prevent the gate arm from closing when a vehicle is beneath it.

Nowadays, induction loops laid in the pavement are usually used to detect the presence of a vehicle at the parking stand or beneath the parking gate. However, the installation of such induction loops involves a considerable outlay. Induction loops are also susceptible to damage, e.g. from shocks, or, as an example, should moisture penetrate through cracks in the pavement. Moreover, they are sensitive to environmental influences. In this way, temperature fluctuations can lead to a change in inductance and water on the roadway can lead to erroneous detection and opening of the gate arm. Additionally, the adjustment of sensors with induction loops is difficult, if not impossible, for metal-reinforced pavements. Induction loops can also be manipulated by metallic objects that simulate a vehicle.

The use of geomagnetic field sensors for the detection of flowing traffic and for the recognition of authorized access to parking areas, as well as the monitoring of entries and exits, is well known. This involves measuring deviations from the earth's natural geomagnetic field by the use of ferromagnetic bodies. The geomagnetic field sensors can be installed in or alongside the roadway, or overhead (U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,682, EP 1193662 A1).

The purpose of the invention is to configure the well-known parking gates more economically and reliably.

According to the invention, this is attained by means of the device according to claim 1. Favorable configurations of the device according to the invention are cited in the sub-claims.

According to the invention, the presence of a vehicle at the parking stand and/or beneath the parking gate is recognized by means of a geomagnetic field sensor. The geomagnetic field sensor is incorporated into the parking stand and/or the parking gate, i.e. it is located at or within the parking stand or parking gate, and therefore internal or external to the barrier support or within or at the barrier bar of the parking gate.

Hence, the geomagnetic field sensor can be installed at the factory. The device according to the invention can therefore be quickly and economically installed on the spot as a ready-to-operate “plug and play” system.

Additionally, the geomagnetic field sensor is insensitive to temperature fluctuations. It is protected from rain and snow by the parking stand housing, or by the barrier support or barrier bar.

Aside from the mere detection of the presence of a vehicle, the vehicle type can also be determined by the geomagnetic sensor based on the form of the measured signals. Moreover, owing to its location within the parking stand, or the barrier support or barrier bar of the gate, the geomagnetic field sensor is not visible from the outside. Manipulation by a metallic object such as a shopping cart, as with an induction loop, is therefore impeded with the device according to the invention.

Owing to the possibility of classifying vehicles based on the form of the signal delivered by the geomagnetic field sensor, different parking rates can be applied to different vehicle types by means of the device according to the invention, for example for motorcycles, private cars, trailers, etc.

A geomagnetic field sensor is preferably located within both the parking stand and the parking gate, whereby the geomagnetic field sensor detects a vehicle beneath the open barrier at the parking gate, which therefore prevents the gate from closing if a vehicle is beneath it.

The geomagnetic field sensor can be located within either the barrier bar or the barrier support of the parking gate. It is protected from rain and snow by the barrier bar or the housing of the barrier support, and is not visible. Additionally, the “plug and play” system can be realized by the geomagnetic field sensor in the parking stand and the geomagnetic field sensor in the parking gate.

A fluxgate magnetic field sensor can be employed as the geomagnetic field sensor, for example. In order not to excessively shield the geomagnetic field sensor—which is integrated into the parking stand, barrier support, or barrier bar—against the earth's geomagnetic field, it is preferable that the housing of the parking stand or the barrier support be made of a non-ferromagnetic material, such as an aluminum alloy or plastic.

The device in the parking stand that controls the mechanism for opening the parking gate can be a reading device for storage media, which opens the barrier upon reading an authorization recorded on a storage medium. As a further example, it can be configured in such a way that it controls the mechanism to open the barrier after the issuance of a car park ticket or a short-term car park ticket at the entrance, for example by means of a photoelectric barrier or the contact of a card in the slot at the parking stand. The reading device can also be used to assure payment at the exit before the barrier opens.

In the case of a roadway with multiple lanes, each with a parking gate, and a geomagnetic field sensor integrated into the parking stand or parking gate, a vehicle in one lane might also be detected by a sensor in the adjacent lane. In order to determine in which lane the vehicle is located, wireless equipment is preferably provided for communication between the geomagnetic field sensors in adjacent lanes. The appropriate lane can then be ascertained, based on a comparison of the intensity and/or the form of the signals from the two sensors, for example.

Below, by way of example, one embodiment of the device according to the invention is described in greater detail with reference to the drawing, the single FIGURE of which portrays a two-lane exit from a parking garage.

Parking gates 1, each having a barrier support 2 and a barrier bar 3, as well as a parking stand 4 situated before gate 1 in the direction of travel, are provided next to the two lanes A and B. Each parking stand 4 has a card slot 5 and a display 6. When exiting the parking garage, a ticket is inserted into the card slot 5, upon which, for example, has been recorded—upon a magnetic stripe or in some other manner—an authorization to leave the parking garage by virtue of payment to a cashier or at an automatic machine.

A geomagnetic field sensor 10 or 11, including the associated electronics and represented by the dashed lines, is located in the housing 7 of the parking stand 4 and in the housing 8 of the barrier support 2, respectively. The housing 7 of the parking stand 4 and the housing 8 of the barrier support 2 consist of a non-ferromagnetic material such as an aluminum alloy.

The geomagnetic field sensor 10 detects the presence of a vehicle at the parking stand 4 in lane A or B, and the geomagnetic field sensor 11 detects the presence of a vehicle beneath the opened barrier bar 3 of the parking gate 1 in the respective lane A or B. A device (not shown) for reading tickets inserted into the card slot 5 is provided at each parking stand 4, and a mechanism (also not shown) for actuating the barrier bar 3 is provided in each barrier support 2.

When the reading device in the respective parking stand 4 reads a ticket inserted into the card slot 5, upon which is recorded an authorization to exit the parking garage, and the geomagnetic field sensor 10 detects a vehicle, the parking gate 1 is opened by the control mechanism raising the barrier bar 3.

The geomagnetic field sensors 10 in the two parking stands 4 at the lanes A and B are interconnected by communication equipment 12, as represented by the double arrow. By means of the data communication equipment 12, it can be determined whether the vehicle is located in lane A or B, for example by a comparison of the intensity and/or form of the signals from the two sensors 10 in the parking stands 4 at the two lanes A and B. The equipment 12 is preferably configured for wireless communication. 

1. (canceled)
 2. A device according to claim 7, characterized in that the geomagnetic field sensor (11) incorporated within the parking gate (1) is located within the barrier support (2) of the parking gate (1).
 3. A device according to claim 7, characterized in that the geomagnetic field sensor (11) incorporated within the parking gate (1) is located within the barrier bar (3) of the parking gate (1).
 4. A device according to claim 7, characterized in that the geomagnetic field sensor (10, 11) is located within the parking stand (4) and/or the parking gate (1).
 5. A device according to claim 4, characterized in that the parking stand (4) and/or the parking gate (1) consists of a non-ferromagnetic material, at least in the vicinity of the geomagnetic field sensors (11, 10).
 6. A device according to claim 7 for a multi-lane roadway (A, B), characterized in that equipment (12) is provided for the reciprocal communication between the geomagnetic field sensors (10, 11) in the adjacent lanes (A, B) for the determination of the lane in which the vehicle is located.
 7. A vehicle detection device with at least one parking gate (1) at a roadway having at least one lane (A, B) and a parking stand (4) located before the parking gate in the direction of travel, a sensor for detecting a vehicle at the parking stand and/or a sensor for detecting a vehicle beneath the opened parking gate (1), and a reading device for a storage medium and/or a car park ticket dispenser, which activates the mechanism for opening the parking gate (1) when an authorization recorded on the storage medium is read, or after the issuance of a car park ticket, characterized in that the sensor for detecting vehicles at the parking stand (4) and/or the sensor for detecting vehicles beneath the parking gate (1) is a geomagnetic field sensor (10, 11), and the geomagnetic field sensor (10) for detecting vehicles at the parking stand (4) is incorporated into the parking stand (4), and/or the geomagnetic field sensor (11) for detecting vehicles beneath the opened parking gate (1) is incorporated into the parking gate (1). 